From the WHP annual calendar · Wednesday, November 18, 2026
World COPD Day: Lung Function Test for Smokers
World COPD Day (third Wednesday in November). COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease): 6.8 million people affected in Germany, 80% caused by smoking. Early stages are asymptomatic! A simple spirometry test (5 minutes) can detect COPD early – before irreversible damage. Statutory health insurance covers it for symptomatic cases; a workplace screening for smokers makes sense.
Idea to get started
Invite the occupational physician with a spirometer. Target group: employees aged 40+ who smoke. Results discussion: refer to a pulmonologist for abnormal findings. Point to Smoke-Free May next spring as a follow-up offer.
Did you know?
In high-income countries, tobacco smoking accounts for over 70 percent of COPD cases. The diagnosis is confirmed with a breathing test called spirometry.
Source: WHO, Fact sheet Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
No proven best practice for this occasion yet
The measures below come from this occasion's action area. They fit the topic but were not carried out for this exact occasion.
Similar measures in the same action area
Open vaccination clinic: vaccinations without a company doctor
Even without a company doctor of your own, you can offer your workforce vaccinations: through the open vaccination clinic of the public health office (Gesundhe…
Health Newsletter
Internal communication in the WHP context is often either too infrequent or too boring. The health newsletter is neither—if done right: concise, relevant, with…
Upfit Holistic Prevention Program (Nutrition & Exercise)
Digital prevention program for employees: It combines a twelve-month nutrition coaching via the Upfit app with a certified online exercise course. Employees im…
The Health Day That Actually Works
The most visible WHP event of the year – in the right dose: A focused health day with preventive offers is more effective than an overloaded program.
First Aid Refresher
Basic first-aider training is mandatory. What happens afterward is often forgetting. The refresher picks up where the original training left off – with what ha…
Heat Protection Measures
Heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer, and more extreme — and employers are obligated, both legally and as a matter of basic decency, to protect their …
Subscribe to the full annual calendar
All occasions as a calendar subscription — appears as its own calendar next to your events, unsubscribe anytime.